


Intertwined Roots

by fieryanmitsu



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Childhood Friends, Fluff, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 7,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24562228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fieryanmitsu/pseuds/fieryanmitsu
Summary: Four very different flowers find themselves growing in the same garden. As the seasons change around them, their roots become more intertwined. So bound together are they, that not even the mightiest gales can tear them apart. Come rain or shine, their friendship weathers through.An alternate universe/canon-divergent A3! series of short vignettes depicting the lives and friendship of four childhood friends: Izumi Tachibana, Itaru Chigasaki, Tsumugi Tsukioka, and Tasuku Takato.NEW CHAPTER: "nicknames" | spring | Tasuku (age 5), Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Tachibana Izumi, Chigasaki Itaru & Takatoo Tasuku, Chigasaki Itaru & Tsukioka Tsumugi, Tachibana Izumi & Takatoo Tasuku, Tsukioka Tsumugi & Tachibana Izumi, Tsukioka Tsumugi & Takatoo Tasuku
Comments: 129
Kudos: 129





	1. “sunny-side up”: Tsumugi & Izumi

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to “Intertwined Roots!” - my canon-divergent alternate universe A3! series where Izumi, Itaru, Tsumugi and Tasuku are childhood friends and each chapter is a short vignette from their lives.
> 
> The impetus behind this series is that I have been wanting to challenge myself to keep up with a long-term writing project and to try my hand at flash fiction/drabbles to keep myself writing more regularly (and so that I avoid falling into my bad habit of taking looooong breaks from writing).
> 
> The main motivating power behind it all, though is that I ABSOLUTE LOVE AND ADORE these four characters together as a collective. I find that these four same-age friends have such great chemistry together and the dynamic in their interactions as a group just DOES things to me! It really made me wonder how they might have been if they’d met when they were younger, and this is how this idea was born!
> 
> The last thing I'll mention here is a note on their ages, in case it's not quite clear. Based on the how the Japanese school system works, the age cut-off for being in the year ahead or the year below is in April. So, Tsumugi and Tasuku are in the same school year, but Tsumugi is two months older than Tasuku (i.e. Tsumugi's technically born one calendar year ahead of Tasuku). Itaru is canonically born the same year as Tasuku (he's actually only two months younger than Tasuku), but because of the cut off for Japanese school years, he is one school year below Tasuku and Tsumugi. Izumi's age is a bit flexible, but based on her interactions with the other three and how she addresses them, I headcanon her to be born in the same year as Tasuku and Itaru. For the purposes of "Intertwined Roots", her birthday is June 26 and she is in the same school year as Itaru.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “sunny-side up” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

Izumi stared listlessly outside the front window, her legs drawn to her chest and knee digging into her cheek. In the small family-run restaurant, she could hear her mother’s voice clearly from the kitchen, despite the latter’s attempts to hush her voice.

“Auntie, thank you so much for letting me bring Izumi along. She’s still so young, I didn’t want to leave her at home by herself.”

“Please, raise your head, Haruna. We’re family – this is the least we could do. When you run your own restaurant, it’s easy to let things like this slide!”

“Thank you so much! I’ll work hard so that we aren’t a burden!”

The window was slightly open and a warm spring breeze blew in, gently ruffling her hair before carrying out the scent of simmering curry.

From the corner of her eye, Izumi saw a flash of blue. Turning her face, she saw that the splash of colour belonged to the mop of hair on a young boy’s head. One of his hands clutched the hand of an older woman with grey streaks in her hair. His other hand held one end of a leash, with the other end attached to the collar of a small dachshund. 

They were practically standing outside the restaurant, and she could just make out their muffled voices through the window.

“Grandma! Grandma! It smells good – can we go in?”

“Tsumu, didn’t you say you weren’t hungry when we left the house?”

“O-Oh… But… But I’m hungry now. The smell made me hungry…”

“Oh Tsumu, you really know how to get to your Grandma with those eyes. Alright, why don’t we tie up Zabi outside for a little bit and go in for a bite to eat, then? That curry certainly does smell yummy!”

A few moments later, the bell above the door jangled.

“Welcome! Take a seat anywhere you’d like!”

Izumi lifted her head and her eyes followed the young blue-haired boy as he practically skipped to one of the tables.

“Here’s a menu for you, sweetheart,” her mother chirped, placing the small kid’s menu in front of the boy. He didn’t even glance at the menu before turning to her mother.

“May I have the curry, please, ma’am?”

“My, my, how polite!” her mother laughed, jotting down his order in her notepad. “Was there anything else you’d like?”

“Oh, um… Grandma, can I get an egg on top, too? Please? Sunny-side up?”

_Egg? On curry…?_

Izumi couldn’t help being confused - she had never heard of such a topping on curry before.

Suddenly, big blue eyes locked with hers. She flushed and ducked her head – she hadn’t meant to be caught staring.

Though she could only see the tops of her shoes, she heard chair legs scrape against the floor, and then light footsteps pattering towards her.

“H-Hello!”

Looking up, Izumi came face-to-face with twinkling blue eyes, rosy cheeks and a shy smile.

“Um… hello…” she answered tentatively. It had been a while since she’d talked with another child her age.

“What’s your name? I’m Tsumugi!”

“Uh, I’m Izumi…” she responded, slowly unwrapping her arms from around her legs and sitting up a little bit straighter.

“Did you make a new friend, Tsumu?” the older woman – his grandmother – asked from behind him. “Why don’t you introduce her to Zabi? You have time before your food comes out.”

Tsumugi nodded enthusiastically to his grandmother before turning back to Izumi.

“Do you want to meet Zabi? He’s really nice – he doesn’t bite!”

Izumi nodded slowly, feeling herself getting drawn in by the boy’s smile. Then, warmth engulfed one of her hands and she was gently tugged to her feet and drawn into the sunshine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s a wrap for the start of this series! I have lots more ideas for this group of precious babies and I can’t wait to slowly start sharing them with you all! The next few chapters will take place chronologically after this one, but otherwise there won't really be any rhyme or reason to the timeline. Each chapter will be based on whatever comes to my mind at the time, and may star all or only some of the four main characters at a time.
> 
> Also, I don't think that Izumi's mother was ever given a canon name, so I've given her the name Haruna.
> 
> Please feel free to drop a comment with what you thought!! Thank you for reading and hope to see you next time!


	2. "flower crown": Tsumugi & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “flower crown” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here’s the next chapter of “Intertwined Roots”! I’m actually updating a little more frequently than I had planned (I’m aiming to do weekly updates), but I think I’m just impatient (and excited) to get out the first few chapters that cover the introduction of the main cast (which I’ve decided to stretch over more chapters than I had originally planned).
> 
> For now, this is another Tsumugi and Izumi chapter, but I promise the others will show up soon!

Izumi’s face was practically pressed into the window. If it had been open, she would have surely fallen out.

Every day for the past four days, without fail, Tsumugi had visited the restaurant with his grandmother and Zabi. He always arrived a little bit after the clock on the wall chimed five times. Izumi didn’t know how to read time yet, but she was positive it had been hours since the clock had announced that it was five o’clock.

“Izumi, staring out the window isn’t going to make Tsumu get here any faster,” her mother laughed. “Why don’t you come help me pack the bento instead of just sitting there?”

The brown-haired girl reluctantly jumped off the bench and clambered onto the chair beside her mother. There was a plate of freshly-made onigiri, individually covered in plastic wrap, a plate of rolled omelette – Tsumugi’s favourite – and a bowl of cherry tomatoes and fresh fruit cut into the shape of stars.

Today, Tsumugi’s grandmother was going to take them on a picnic at the park, and her mother had offered to make them a bento.

“Why don’t you pack the onigiri in here for me?” Haruna asked, as she picked up a pair of chopsticks to arrange the rest of the items in a separate layer of the bento box.

Izumi carefully picked up the onigiri one at a time – rice still warm under her hand – and packed them slowly into the empty layer. She didn’t want a single one to be smooshed by accident – they had to be perfect for Tsumugi.

No sooner had they wrapped up the bento, Izumi heard the tell-tale jingling of the front door opening.

“TSUMU!” Izumi nearly fell out of her chair as she scrambled over to greet the boy, who greeted her with a hug, and his grandmother.

“Are you ready to go, Izumi?” Chieko asked, leaning down to pat her on the head.

“Yes! I helped make the bento!” Izumi exclaimed, puffing out her chest with pride.

“Don’t forget your hat, Izumi!” Haruna chided, as she slid Izumi’s arms through the straps of her backpack.

The second that her sunhat was secured on her head, Izumi was out the door on Tsumugi’s heels.

She had run out so fast that she didn’t hear her mother thanking Chieko for offering to look after her, nor did she hear the older woman sympathetically respond: “It’s no problem at all, dear. Tsumu loves playing with Izumi – he won’t stop chattering about seeing her again. I’m sure it’s already hard enough for you on your own – I don’t mind watching her for you while you’re working.”

As soon as she stepped outside, Zabi ran up to Izumi, winding himself between her feet and barking excitedly. Both children surrounded the puppy and ruffled his fur and ears, squealing with laughter as Zabi lapped at their faces with his tongue.

“Alright, you two, hold hands and walk along the wall so you aren’t too close to the road. Tsumu, I’ll take Zabi’s leash until we get to the park,” Chieko said firmly, letting the door of the restaurant close behind her.

“Okaaaay.”

Swinging their hands between them as they walked, it wasn’t long before the park came into view. A grassy field sprawled across one side of the spacious park while a large playground – complete with a large elephant-shaped slide, swings and play structure – took up the other half. Tall trees, weighed down with cherry blossoms, surrounded the park on all sides.

The group of three quickly found a grassy spot to lay out their picnic blanket, and Izumi carefully removed the bento from her backpack, not wanting it to fall over. Beside her, Tsumugi rummaged through his own bag as well.

“Izumi! Close your eyes!” Tsumugi suddenly demanded.

“Huh? Why?”

“You’ll see! It’s a surprise!”

Settling onto the blanket, Izumi closed her eyes. A moment later, she felt her hat being lifted off her head and then replaced with a different weight.

“What’s this?” Izumi’s eyes opened to see a big smile on Tsumugi’s face. She reached up and gingerly patted at the foreign object on her head and felt velvety petals brush against her palm.

“Ta-dah! It’s a flower crown! I made it with Grandma!” Tsumugi exclaimed, throwing his arms out wide, as if that would emphasize the surprise. “It’s a present! ‘Cause we’re friends!”

_Friend._

It took a moment for Izumi’s brain to process the word. And, when it did, she felt an undefinable emotion surge through her. It was happiness, but also something else that her immature mind could not fully comprehend.

Without even realizing what she was doing, she had pushed off the ground and launched herself into Tsumugi.

“Whoa!!” Tsumugi yelped as he fell backwards from the force of Izumi’s powerful hug. As soon as he recovered, he squeezed her back with a giggle.

The only thing that Izumi completely understood was that this was the first time someone had called her their friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsumugi is a literal angel and I am having a blast writing about this sweet baby.  
> Next chapter will introduce one more of our crew, so please stay tuned! As usual, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the chapter if you have any!! Thank you for reading~


	3. "drawing": Tsumugi & Tasuku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “drawing” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5) & Tasuku (age 5)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back again with another update! This time, we finally get to see Tasuku! This is a bit of a shorter chapter, but I should have the next chapter up in a few days to compensate!

In the Takato household’s living room, the television blared out a soccer game as an older boy stared, enraptured by the figures running across the screen and practically sitting at the edge of the couch. Beside him, at the nearby coffee table, two young boys scribbled away furiously on crisp white paper.

Tsumugi unconsciously stuck his tongue out in concentration as he focused on his drawing, fingers clamped tightly around a brown crayon.

“What are drawing, Tsumu?” Tasuku asked, glancing over at his friend’s paper curiously. Tasuku’s own paper had soccer balls all over the page, and he was beginning to draw a big, gold trophy.

“H-Hold on!” Tsumugi stammered, as if talking any more would destroy his focus.

Tasuku closed his mouth and instead continued to watch the other boy draw long brown hair on the stick person. Or, at least, Tasuku _thought_ it was a stick person – it was kind of crooked and there were some green lines coming out the top, so maybe it was actually a tree? Next to the tree(?) was a small, long sausage-looking shape – Zabi, which he had seen Tsumugi draw before, so he knew that one for sure – and another stick person(?) that had blue scribbles on top of a round head. Green swirls were drawn at the bottom of the page, which Tasuku could only assume was supposed to be grass – though he had no idea why it was swirly, since wasn’t grass kind of pointy?

“Done!” Tsumugi exclaimed triumphantly, putting down his crayon to admire his masterpiece, eyes sparkling with satisfaction.

“Is this you, Tsumu?” Tasuku asked, pointing to the shape with blue scribbles.

“Yeah! And this is Zabi!”

“… Is this a tree?”

“Haha, you’re so funny, Tachan!” Tsumugi giggled with a shake of his head. “This is Izumi! Look, I even drew the flower crown I made her the other day!”

Tasuku raised an eyebrow. That explained the weird green lines.

“I’m going to give this to Izumi as a present! I hope she likes it!”

As Tsumugi chattered in his ear about what he did with Izumi the other day, Tasuku’s eyes unconsciously fell on the brown-haired stick figure again and he frowned.

“You keep talking about her a lot,” Tasuku stated, his gaze flickering away from the paper.

“Yeah, she’s my new friend! She’s really fun!” Tsumugi exclaimed excitedly.

“Oh.”

“Sometimes, she shows me these cool poses she learned from her daddy and she says really funny stuff! I can’t wait to see her again!”

Tasuku turned back to the paper in front of him and began to half-heartedly colour in his trophy. Behind him, his older brother suddenly yelled loudly.

“Did they win, Big Bro Fuyuki?” Tsumugi asked, startled by the older boy’s shout.

“Yeeeees! They just scored the winning goal at the last second!” Fuyuki responded. “Oh yeah, do you guys want a snack? Mom bought some cake. Put your drawings away and we can eat together!”

“Yaaaay! Cake!!” Tsumugi cheered. The blue-haired boy then set his drawing aside carefully and began to gather the crayons that were sprawled across the coffee table.

“Hey, Tsumu,” said Tasuku, placing his crayons back in their box.

“Yeah?”

“I want to meet Izumi.”

“Really?!” Tsumugi gasped. “Okay! I can’t wait for us to play together! I’m so happy!”

However, in his excitement, Tsumugi failed to notice the dark clouds shadowing Tasuku’s features as his friend quietly stacked his drawing on top of his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oho, how will Tasuku and Izumi’s first meeting go? Stay tuned to find out, haha! As usual, let me know what you think and thanks for reading!!


	4. "duel": Tsumugi, Tasuku & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “duel” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5), Tasuku (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was one of the first scenes that I envisioned when I first came up with this AU, haha. So, I’ve been very much anticipating sharing this with you all! I hope you’ll all enjoy it!

Izumi had been impatiently waiting outside the restaurant when she saw them arrive. However, unlike the other times Tsumugi had visited, there was someone else accompanying the usual trio.

“Hi Izumi! I brought my friend with me, today!” Tsumugi greeted, clasping one of her hands in his before gesturing to the new addition to their group. “This is Tachan! He wanted to meet you!”

The young girl couldn’t help but stare curiously at the stranger in front of her – a boy with sharp violet eyes and dark hair, shaved practically to his scalp. He seemed to be about the same age as them, but he was noticeably bigger than Tsumugi, who was barely taller than she was. His dissimilarity from her blue-haired friend was extra striking because of the frown etched on his face.

Suddenly remembering her manners, Izumi awkwardly bowed and stuttered out a greeting.

“Um, nice to meet you, Tachan. I’m Izumi!”

“I didn’t say you could call me that. It’s Tasuku to you.”

Izumi flinched at his curt response and mumbled a quick apology. Unsure of how else to respond, the girl instead stooped down to pet Zabi, who was nudging her leg for attention.

“H-Hi Zabi,” she greeted, ruffling his floppy ears.

“Now, now, Tachan, no need to be shy,” Chieko chuckled, eyes twinkling mischievously as she picked up on the mood.

“I’m not shy!” Tasuku retorted with another scowl, unable to control it from turning into a pout.

“Is something wrong, Tachan?” Tsumugi asked anxiously.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Oh. Okay…”

Chieko waved to Haruna through the window, letting the other woman know she’d arrived, before she turned to the three children in front of her.

“Well, why don’t we head to the park then? I’m sure Zabi wants to run around, so we shouldn’t keep him waiting!” she said with a smile, patting each of them on the head gently. “Izumi, why don’t you hold my hand while Tsumu and Tachan hold hands? Don’t forget to walk near the wall, you two.”

The three children nodded obediently and made their way to the park in an unusual silence. However, once they arrived at their destination, the sounds of other children squealing with joy automatically perked their mood.

“I’m just going to take Zabi to do his business, so you three stick together, okay?”

“Okay!” they all chimed as Chieko nodded and walked away with Zabi.

“What do you guys want to play?” Tsumugi asked, having shrugged off his unease from earlier.

“Let’s make flower crowns!” Izumi exclaimed.

“Let’s play tag!” Tasuku responded.

Izumi and Tasuku turned to each other in surprise as their responses tumbled over each other’s.

“No way, we’re playing tag!” Tasuku stated firmly.

“Nuh uh! We’re making flower crowns!” Izumi replied, crossing her arms defiantly.

Tsumugi’s eyes widened in alarm as his two friends glared at each other.

“No! That’s boring!”

“What?! It’s not boring! It’s fun!”

“Ugh! This is why girls stink!”

“What?! At least I’m not a baldie!”

“HAH?! I’m NOT bald!!”

“Yes, you are!!”

“Well, you’re– you’re just a poop head then!”

“NOOOOO!! STOP FIGHTING!!!” Tsumugi cried, bursting into tears as his friends’ voices escalated in volume.

“Look what you did! You made Tsumu cry!” accused Izumi, poking a finger at his chest, completely ignoring her mother’s voice in her head scolding her that it was rude to point.

“No, YOU made him cry!” Tasuku snapped back, purposely using his height to try and cow the smaller girl.

“Grandmaaaaaa!” Tsumugi wailed, running off to find his grandmother as the other two continued to shoot daggers at each other.

Unintimidated by the taller boy, Izumi shoved him back and pointed at him again.

“I chawwenge you to a dool!” she proclaimed confidently, unconcerned that she had stumbled over her words.

“Huh? What’s that?” Tasuku asked, baffled at the unfamiliar word.

“A dool!” Izumi repeated, also surprised at Tasuku’s response. She hadn’t expected that she would need to explain what it was. “It’s, a, you know. A dool. You throw a glove. And then you go WHOOSH with a sword! And then you go HAH and YAH! Like this!”

Izumi demonstrated, pretending to hold a sword in her hand and slashing at the air. In his confusion, Tasuku’s anger deflated and, instead, he found himself oddly captivated by her actions – he hadn’t played a ‘dool’ before, but it looked interesting.

“And then someone wins!! My daddy and his friends were doing it!”

“But we don’t have a glove,” the violet-eyed boy remarked.

“Oh, well, I’ll throw my hat then,” Izumi responded with a shrug. She took off the cap on her head and threw it at Tasuku’s feet.

“Okay, hold on, let me find some sticks for swords,” Tasuku responded, running towards the nearby line of trees and scanning the ground.

Picking up two short sticks, he jogged back to Izumi and handed her one. As soon as they pointed their sticks at each other, excited to start their ‘dool’, Chieko, Tsumugi and Zabi came running towards them.

“IZUMI! TASUKU! PUT THOSE STICKS DOWN THIS INSTANT!”

“Ehhhhh?!”

“But we’re about to dool!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA, even as a five year-old, Tasuku can be swayed so easily. Also, y’all can’t convince me that baby Tasuku didn’t have a buzz cut!! It’s okay, he grows it out – but he definitely didn’t do it because Izumi kept making fun of him, hahaha!
> 
> Anyway, I was really excited to write this chapter, because Izumi and Tasuku have such a fun dynamic that’s totally different than their relationship with Tsumugi! Hopefully you all enjoyed these two stupid babies being bad! 
> 
> Thanks for reading again and feel free to drop a comment with your thoughts! <3


	5. "kick": Tsumugi,  Tasuku & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “kick” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5), Tasuku (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ I’m back again with a new chapter! This one took me a little longer than I expected because I kept bouncing between ideas on how to best get my message across, haha. But, after reworking it several times, I finally ended up with something I was satisfied with. Please enjoy!

“So we just kick it at the net?” Izumi asked, staring and poking at the black and white ball on the ground in front of her.

“Yeah, we can’t play a soccer game ‘cause we don’t have enough people, but we can see who can score the most goals,” Tasuku responded.

Izumi had been surprised to see Tasuku again today. She thought that he didn’t like her and wouldn’t want to play together after yesterday, when Tsumugi’s grandmother had forced them both to sit down and make flower crowns instead of having their ‘dool’. However, today, he had shown up with Tsumugi again.

At first, Izumi had been upset that she had to see his stupid baldie head again, but when she saw that he had brought a black and white ball with him, her curiosity won over her short-lived spite. She had seen kids play with it before, but had never played with one herself.

“No one is here now, so we can do what we want,” Tasuku added. “Here, I’ll show you.”

Tasuku carefully positioned the soccer ball to line up with the net. Shifting his weight, he swung his right leg back and connected the top of his foot with the ball. It shot forward quickly and smacked into the back of the net.

“Whooaaaa, it went so fast!” Izumi gasped.

“Nice shot, Tachan!” Tsumugi exclaimed, clapping his hands together gleefully.

Tasuku then ran after the ball and retrieved it, putting it back down on the ground again.

“Here, you try.”

Buzzing with anticipation, Izumi stepped up to the ball and tried to copy how Tasuku had been standing mere moments ago. Taking in a deep breath, she aimed her foot carefully and kicked the ball with all her might. However, though her foot connected with the ball, it swerved to the side almost immediately after taking off and missed the net completely.

“Aww, you were so close, Izumi,” Tsumugi remarked.

“Ehhhh, it didn’t go ‘whoosh’ like yours did, Tachan,” Izumi lamented with a huff.

“Hmmm, not bad. At least you can hit it,” replied the violet-eyed boy. “And, I didn’t say you can call me Tachan.”

“Hey, hey, show me that kick again, Tachan,” Izumi demanded, completely ignoring the second half of what the boy had just said.

With a sigh, Tasuku retrieved the ball and repeated his kick again as Izumi intently watched.

“Okay, lemme try again!” Izumi declared excitedly. This time, she was careful to aim right at the centre of the ball. “Hyaaaah!”

This time, the ball didn’t swerve, and managed to travel straight ahead, arcing high into the air. Once it landed, it bounced several times, but managed to roll near the goal line.

“One more time! I’m gonna get it next time for sure!” Izumi exclaimed before she ran after the ball.

Setting it up for the third time, the brown-haired girl took aim again and sent the ball flying with a satisfying sound. A second later, the ball connected with the back of the net before bouncing back onto the ground harmlessly.

“Yaaaaay! You did it!” Tsumugi cheered, jumping up and down in his excitement, while Tasuku stared in surprise.

“Did you see that? Wasn’t I the best?” demanded the young girl, chest puffed out with pride as she returned from fetching the ball and tossed it at Tasuku.

“Huh, yeah, you pass,” Tasuku responded thoughtfully, nodding to himself as if he had decided on something.

“Pass what?”

“It’s my turn next!” Tsumugi exclaimed suddenly, eyes sparkling eagerly.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t kick yet, Tsumu!” Izumi remarked, her attention drawn away from Tasuku.

“Uhh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said Tasuku, his brows furrowing.

“That’s mean, Tachan! I can definitely kick it this time,” Tsumugi replied with a pout, catching on to what the other boy was implying. “Gimme the ball!”

Seeing that Tsumugi wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer, Tasuku reluctantly set the ball back on the ground again before retreating further back than usual, pulling a confused Izumi along with him.

Feeling more determined than ever, Tsumugi took a steadying breath before he drew his leg back and aimed a confident kick at the soccer ball.

Izumi shrieked Tsumugi’s name in alarm as the two other children watched the ball somehow shoot straight up and connect with Tsumugi’s forehead, knocking the boy flat onto his back. From beside her, Tasuku could only sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Tsumugi – I’ve put him through the wringer twice in row, haha. But anyway, next chapter will finally introduce the last member of our group! Please look forward to Itaru’s big debut! 
> 
> Thanks again for reading, and please feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts!


	6. "tic-tac-toe": Itaru & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “tic-tac-toe” | spring | Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another chapter that I was really looking forward to writing, since it introduces our last main character! This was also a chapter that I had planned out quite early on as well, so there was definitely a lot of anticipation to writing this! 
> 
> Also, I realized that I’ve been using the wrong spelling for Tasuku’s nickname this whole time. I’m trying to stick with the localized spellings, and it’s spelled “Tachan” with only one ‘a’. I’ll have to go back and fix it in the previous chapters…!!

Izumi sighed as she pushed away her picture book and flopped backwards onto the floor, her foot idly kicking at one of the coffee table legs. Though it was her favourite book, she had lost all motivation to turn the page and had been wearily rereading the same words over and over again.

_Bored._

It had been four days since she’d last seen Tsumugi and Tasuku. This was the longest she had gone without seeing one of them since they’d first met almost two months ago.

“Mommy, when are Tsumu and Tachan coming back?” Izumi whined from her spot on the floor.

Haruna looked up from the kitchen counter she was cleaning and glanced at her daughter with an amused smile.

“That’s the second time you’ve asked that today, Izumi. They’ll be back at the end of Golden Week – so three more days.”

The young girl let out another miserable sigh.

“You’re going to chase all of your happiness away if you keep sighing, Izumi,” Haruna tutted lightly as she wiped her hands on her apron. “I’m done cleaning the kitchen for now, and there’s still time before I need to start dinner. How about we go to the park? Will that cheer you up?”

Izumi immediately sat up at the mention of the park. It wasn’t quite the same going to play without her best friends, but at least it would be more interesting than sitting at home. With an enthusiastic cheer, the girl scrambled to her feet and got herself ready. Soon, the mother-daughter duo left their two-bedroom apartment and leisurely made their way to the park Izumi often frequented with Tsumugi and Tasuku.

With everyone off work and school for Golden Week, the park was livelier than usual. Many families were spread out across the grass with picnic blankets and the air was filled with the joyful shouts and squeals of countless children. Izumi’s eyes swept across the playground, taking in the swarming play structure and fully occupied swing set, spring toys and sandbox. From what she could tell, most of the other children were several years older than her – about Fuyuki’s age.

“Izumi, after we spread out the blanket, can you help me pick some flowers for the house?” Haruna asked gently, feeling her daughter’s hand tighten around her own.

Perking up, Izumi nodded at her mother before they proceeded to claim an open area of grass with their pink and white blanket.

“Mommy, I’m gonna go this way to find more flowers!” Izumi called to her mother, several dandelions clutched in one hand. The young girl wanted to find some daisies to go with the yellow flowers she had already plucked.

As she walked further from her mother, scouring the grass for a glimpse of white flowers, she suddenly noticed a solitary figure crouched ahead of her on the outskirts of the playground. It was a young boy with fluffy hair and oval glasses. He was holding a stick in one hand and scratching it against the ground.

Maybe it was because he made such a striking sight, playing by himself in stark contrast to the bustling play structure behind him, but Izumi found herself fixated by the boy.

Curious about her new discovery, she scampered closer to the young boy and, before either of them realized, she had come to a stop in front of him. The only thing separating the two children was the drawing of a grid in the dirt between them.

Sensing her presence, the boy looked up from his drawing and glanced wordlessly at Izumi. His magenta eyes locked with her brown ones for just a moment before the boy’s gaze flickered back down to the dirt. Without even acknowledging her, he continued to scratch away at the ground.

Izumi watched as the boy drew an X in one corner of his three-by-three grid before drawing an O next to it. Then, he drew another X in the empty square above his O.

“Are you playing tic-tac-toe?” Izumi blurted out, surprised.

The boy looked up at her again with wide eyes, but didn’t answer her.

“I didn’t know you could play by yourself!” she exclaimed in awe, unperturbed by his silence. She had never thought to try that before.

Crouching down and setting her half-finished bouquet aside, Izumi studied the grid with an intense expression.

“Are you going to put the next O here?” she asked, pointing at an empty square. “Wait, no, put it here!”

Izumi was so caught up in her own excitement that she didn’t even notice that the boy still hadn’t said a word to her. In fact, he was staring at her as if she was speaking a completely different language.

“Can I play, too?!” Izumi asked eagerly, wanting to implement her great tactical plan to win the tic-tac-toe game. “Here, lemme borrow your stick!”

With her hand held out open and expectant in front of him, the boy reflexively placed his twig in her hand. Izumi quickly scratched an O into the dirt, blocking off the potential win.

“Your turn!” Izumi chirped, handing the stick back.

Though the boy still didn’t respond to her, he took the stick and drew an X two squares below her O before wordlessly proffering it to Izumi. Noticing that the boy was ignoring the row closest to her, Izumi drew another O beside her first one. Then, branch back in his hand, the boy scratched out his final X and drew a diagonal line through his three-in-a-row.

“I win,” he murmured quietly, a small smile spreading across his face.

“Ehhhhhh?!” Izumi exclaimed in dismay, more shocked that she had lost than by the fact that the boy had finally spoken. “Again!! Let’s play again! I’ll for sure win this time!”

“HEEEEEY! It’s time to go hoooome!!” a loud voice suddenly interrupted.

Looking up at the unexpected holler, the two children saw an older girl waving in their direction.

“Um, I gotta go,” the boy mumbled, standing up and dusting off his pants.

“Wait!” Izumi exclaimed, shooting upright as well. “Will you be here tomorrow?”

“Umm…”

Brows furrowed, the boy glanced anxiously over his shoulder at the older girl waiting with her hands on her hips, before whipping his head back to look at the bright-eyed child in front of him.

“Uh, I… I don’t…” he stuttered nervously, unsure of how to respond.

“Come back tomorrow, okay? After lunch!” Izumi insisted. “I wanna play tic-tac-toe with you again!”

Without waiting for his answer, Izumi took the boy’s right hand in both of her own and maneuvered his pinky to stick out. Hooking her own pinky around his, she shook their hands up and down furiously.

“There! Now it’s a pinky swear! So, if you don’t come back tomorrow, you’ll have to swallow a thousand needles!”

Dropping his hand, Izumi knelt to pick up her discarded flowers, oblivious to the dazed look on the boy’s face.

“Oh! I forgot! I’m Izumi! What’s your name?”

“… Itaru…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I’m so glad I was finally able to introduce Itaru!! Honestly, one of the biggest reasons behind how this series came to life was my desperate need to have a universe where young Itaru is happy and grows up with wonderful friends who appreciate and love him T_T.  
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please do leave a comment if you have any impressions! Thank you for stopping by!


	7. "hide and seek": Itaru & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “hide and seek” | spring | Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, I was completely swamped with work and IRL matters these past two weeks, so I’m just managing to get this chapter out now!! Though, I think I’ve now settled on the best schedule for myself with this series – I’ll likely update it every two weeks moving forward! This gives me some time to work on other stories generally as well and I won’t feel as rushed! 
> 
> Anyway, this chapter is a direct continuation of the last chapter and is the second meeting between Itaru and Izumi! Also, quick reminder: Akari is the name I gave to Itaru’s sister, since I don’t believe she has a canon name. 
> 
> Please enjoy!

“Ugh, Itaru, stop dragging your feet already,” Akari growled as she continued to haul her little brother by his arm down the sidewalk.

“B-But, I don’t wanna go, Sis,” Itaru protested weakly.

“Well, too bad! You _promised_ to go, so you _have_ to go,” she snapped back. “You can’t just leave that girl waiting for you just ‘cause you were too slow to tell her you didn’t wanna come back!”

Itaru closed his mouth, unable to protest. He had honestly been too shocked yesterday to turn Izumi down. He’d only ever played – if you could call being bossed around playing, anyway – with his sister at home, and he’d never gotten along easily with other children. Whenever they had tried to approach him, he’d usually be too shy to respond to them, and they’d eventually walk away, bored with his lack of reaction.

His encounter with Izumi had been the first time where someone had bothered to stick around. And, though one part of him somewhat anticipated meeting her again, the other part was mostly scared to face such an unfamiliar and unpredictable force again.

Lost in his thoughts, Itaru stumbled as his sister came to a sudden halt. In contrast to yesterday, the park was relatively empty, with only a handful of children kicking a ball around on the field and another small group playing on the swing set.

As Akari had predicted, Izumi was waiting for him, rocking by herself on one of the spring toys. Catching sight of the siblings, the young girl immediately jumped off the well-worn, horse-shaped contraption and ran over to them with a big smile on her face.

Panicking, Itaru ducked behind his sister and hid his face, unconsciously clutching at the back of her shirt.

“Um, hello,” Izumi greeted Akari bashfully. “I’m Izumi.”

“Hi, I’m Akari – this guy’s big sister,” Akari responded, reaching behind her to pull at Itaru. With strength belying her slender arms, she wrenched the young boy off her back and shoved him in front of her. “I’m gonna go meet my friends, so I’ll come back later to get him, okay? See ya!”

To Itaru’s alarm, his sister then walked away with a wave of her hand. He wanted to follow her, but he knew she would only get mad at him and that thought was enough for him to, instead, turn his gaze towards the bright-eyed girl in front of him.

“Hi Itaru!” Izumi chirped excitedly. “What do you want to play? Tic-tac-toe, again?”

Itaru knew that he should just greet her back and answer the question, but found himself floundering as he continued to stare at her expectant face. It wasn’t often that he was put on the spot, and, with his mind racing a mile a minute, his fight-or-flight instinct kicked in. And, so, he ran.

Without really understanding what he was doing, he dashed towards the giant elephant slide and hid himself beneath it. If he couldn’t see her, he could think better.

“Wait, are we playing hide and seek?!” Izumi exclaimed as she ran after Itaru and stopped at the other side of the elephant slide. “I’m super duper good at it! I’ll be ‘it’ first! I’m gonna count to one hundred!”

Izumi clapped her hands over her eyes and started counting loudly.

“One… two… three…”

Itaru wasn’t quite sure how she had come to this conclusion, but he wasn’t going to say ‘no’ to hiding. It sounded like a much better option than figuring out how to talk with the girl. Figuring that Izumi would assume that he would run _away_ from her, he quickly stepped out of his hiding spot and purposely stomped his feet as he ran past her in the direction of the field. However, he quickly u-turned and quietly snuck back under the elephant slide again, making sure he was completely hidden in the shadows, before waiting for her to finish counting.

“… Ummm, nineteen… tw-twenty… tw-twenty-one… Tw… Tw… Ummmmm…ONE HUNDRED!” Izumi yelled. “Ready or not, here I come!!”

Though Itaru was alarmed that she had suddenly skipped almost eighty numbers, he kept still as he heard Izumi rush past the elephant slide, as he had predicted.

He carefully peeked out around the slide opening and saw Izumi running around the trees near the field, poking into the bushes every so often. After watching her for several minutes, he could see that the girl was becoming increasingly frustrated as her efforts continued to turn up empty-handed. Then, she began wandering back towards the slide.

Taking care to creep back into the shadows as she approached, he heard her call out his name.

“Itaaarruuuuu, where are you?!” she cried out.

Thinking that she was trying to trick him, he kept quiet. A minute passed in near silence. And then another. Then, he heard a sniffle.

“Itaruuuu, where did you gooooo?!” Izumi yelled again, a wobble in her voice. “Wh-What if I never find him?! He’ll be st-stuck waiting for-forever…”

Feeling an unfamiliar twinge in his chest as he heard another sniffle, Itaru crouched down and stared at the ground. Seeing a small stone near his foot, he stared at it for a moment before grabbing it with his left hand. He then threw it at the back of the slide, and it clanged against the metal noisily before dropping to the ground.

The sound of Izumi’s sniffles suddenly stopped. Then, he heard her footsteps crunch against the gravel and, a moment later, a set of big brown eyes peeked at him from the opening of the slide.

“Itaru!! I found you!” she exclaimed gleefully, though her eyes were red. “Told ya I was good! It’s my turn to hide, now! Count to a hundred, okay?!”

The brown-haired girl then whirled around and ran off, leaving the young boy with only one option – closing his eyes. Itaru quietly counted to twenty-two – his soft voice slightly echoing off the inside of the metal slide – before poking his head out from under the slide.

It took approximately ten seconds for him to find Izumi hiding in a nearby bush with one of her feet sticking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Knowing Itaru’s personality, I knew that getting him to hang out with Izumi again would take some external forces, haha (i.e. his sister physically dragging him there). Next chapter, I’m excited to announce that we’ll finally have the entire crew together for the first time~
> 
> Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to get the next chapter up until at least the end of the month. However, this is only because I plan to be writing like a madwoman for the upcoming “A3! Rare Pairs Week”, which is running here on AO3 (and on Twitter) from July 13 to 19! I won’t be able to write each of the seven prompts on time, so I anticipate that I’ll take the entire month to finish them all up! In the meantime, I will be, sadly, putting “Intertwined Roots” on the backburner! But, please do stay tuned for my other works, instead! Thank you for reading and hope to see you all again soon!


	8. "laughter": Tsumugi, Tasuku, Itaru & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “laughter” | spring | Tsumugi (age 5), Tasuku (age 5), Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh!! It’s been almost a month since I last updated “Intertwined Roots” and I’m so glad to be back!! I still have to finish up my Rare Pair Week entries, but I really wanted to come back to my babies, so decided to squeeze in an update here first! 
> 
> We’ve finally reached the chapter where all four kiddos meet!! This was a moment I was greatly anticipating, so I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter!

Itaru’s stomach was in knots. He had never been more nervous in his life.

“I-Izumi… Wh-What if they don’t like me?” Itaru asked quietly, his hands wringing the edge of his shirt.

“Course they’ll like you!” Izumi declared. “They’re my bestest friends, and you’re my bestest friend now, too! So, we’re all friends!”

“Umm, I… I don’t think… that’s how it works,” the brown-haired boy murmured, confused by her logic.

It had only been a few days since he’d met Izumi, but it had been a life-changing experience for the bespectacled boy. No matter how awkward or quiet he was, the energetic girl never seemed to mind – rather, she somehow continued the conversation even without his responses. She also didn’t laugh at how bad he was at climbing the jungle gym – always cheering him on instead of leaving him behind. Even when he won all of their games, rather than getting upset at his constant victories, she’d challenge him to another round with even more determination than before.

And, now that he had a taste of what it was like to have a friend, he feared losing her.

Izumi often talked about her two other friends, Tsumu and Tachan. She said that they were her best friends and that they were lots of fun – even though Tachan was a baldie butthead sometimes. The girl had been ecstatic to introduce him to them once they returned from their Golden Week visit to some out-of-town family members.

However, rather than feeling anticipation at meeting them, Itaru only felt dread. If Tsumu and Tachan didn’t like him, just like most of the other kids he’d met, would that mean he couldn’t play with Izumi anymore? The thought made his throat tighten.

“Oh, look! They’re here!” Izumi exclaimed, waving both of her arms above her head at three oncoming figures.

“Izuuuumiiii!!” a blue-haired boy yelled back. Beside him, a taller boy with hair shaved short to his head waved an arm back. Trailing behind them was an older boy with dark hair.

Itaru wished he could prepare himself better, but, before he knew it, the two younger boys were running towards them.

Izumi immediately threw herself at the blue-haired boy, hugging him tight.

“I missed you, Tsumu!”

“Me, too!” Tsumugi replied with a giggle.

“Hey, how come _I_ don’t get anything!” Tasuku demanded.

Izumi turned her head towards Tasuku and stuck her tongue out at him. Itaru could see the taller boy’s eyebrows raise and, a second later, Tasuku smirked and jabbed Izumi in the ribs with his fingers. Izumi squealed and lunged at him, trying to jab him back, but the boy just danced away. With a yell of protest, Izumi chased after his retreating figure.

Itaru’s head was spinning and he dropped his gaze to look at his feet. He thought he might be feeling sick.

Then, suddenly, his vision was filled with yellow.

“This is for you!” a soft voice chirped.

Itaru looked up from the small bouquet of big, yellow daisies and came face-to-face with Tsumugi.

“F-For me?” Itaru asked uncertainly.

“Yeah! My grandma grew them! She said that the yellow ones are for friends!” the boy chattered excitedly. “So, umm, my name’s Tsumugi! Will you please be my friend?”

Itaru was thunderstruck. His gaze flickered down from Tsumugi’s shy smile to the flowers clutched in his hand, not quite believing that a second person – in the span of less than a week – was asking to be his friend.

After a long second, Itaru finally reached out and slowly took the bright yellow flowers from Tsumugi’s unwavering hand. He gentle fingered one of the petals – they were velvety and soft.

“Yay! Let’s play together lots, okay, Itaru?” Tsumugi said with a bright smile.

“H-How did you know my name?” Itaru asked, surprised.

“Izumi talked lots about you when we played yesterday,” Tsumugi responded.

Then, a whirlwind of brown hair flew past them and Izumi was suddenly behind Itaru, clutching onto his shoulders.

“You’re so mean, Tachan – my hair’s all messy now!” Izumi exclaimed with a pout. “You better not be mean to Itaru or I’ll beat you up!”

Itaru’s eyes flickered up to stare at Tasuku, who had come to stand beside Tsumugi.

“So, you’re Itaru, right?” the taller boy asked. “I’m Tasuku.”

Maybe it was because Itaru was taken aback by Tasuku’s size – being much bigger than Tsumugi and himself – but, instead of saying ‘nice to meet you’, like he had been taught by his parents, Itaru blurted something out instead.

“There’s no way you can beat him up, Izumi. He’s huge.”

“Wh-What?! I-I so can!” Izumi protested, stomping her feet. “Just watch!”

The girl then launched herself at Tasuku and headbutted him in the stomach. The movement took the taller boy by surprise and he yelped as he was knocked onto his behind. Izumi, unable to stop her momentum, promptly toppled over him.

A part of Itaru was alarmed at what had just happened, but another part of him found the entire situation – a tiny girl barrelling into someone a full head taller than her – so absurd that it was hilarious. So hilarious, in fact, that a laugh ripped itself out of Itaru’s throat and he was practically doubled over as giggles wracked his body.

“H-Hey! You’re laughing!” Izumi gasped.

Realizing that he was being called out, Itaru calmed himself immediately, nudging his glasses up to wipe his eyes with one hand.

“S-Sorry,” he apologized, suddenly nervous that maybe he shouldn’t have laughed. Was she mad?

“B-But…” Izumi’s eyebrows furrowed, and her cheeks puffed out. “You didn’t even laugh at my funny faces yesterday!!”

Itaru distinctly remembered the ‘funny faces’ she was talking about. He wasn’t sure how to tell her that they hadn’t been funny.

“Here, try again!! I’ll definitely make you laugh this time!”

Izumi then squished her face between her hands and puckered out her lips while rolling her eyes.

From beside him, Tsumugi burst into giggles. Itaru, on the other hand, could only tilt his head. It looked weird, but not quite funny.

“You look like a demon,” Tasuku remarked dryly.

Itaru clapped his hand over his mouth as he let out a snort.

“HEY!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we have it!! Our babies are all together now!! I didn’t originally imagine that I would keep things chronological for so long, but I ended up really wanting to set up the foundation of how they all met before I jumped around! I’ve got one more chronological chapter left after this one to “wrap up” what I’d consider their first meetings, so to say. 
> 
> After that, I plan to post non-chronological snippets from various times of their lives in no particular order. I’ll note that, timeline-wise, this fic series will only cover their “childhood” (i.e. up until Izumi and Itaru’s high school graduation).
> 
> I already have a pool of ideas, but I don’t actually have a preference for the order in which to write them. SO… I’d like to ask all of you awesome readers for opinions! Hearing everyone’s feedback on the chapters so far has been so motivating for me and I’m so happy that there’s people out there who love this series that I’ve put together! As my way of giving back, I’d like to open “requests” for the upcoming chapters! 
> 
> How it’ll work is that you can request any “set” of characters (any combination of two, three or all four of our main characters) and then just let me know which age range you’d like to see (preschool/elementary age, middle school age or high school age). So, if there’s any particular interaction/combination of characters you’d like to see, please drop a comment with something like “Itaru and Tasuku, high school age” and I’ll write the next chapters in order of requests that I receive! 
> 
> When I run out of requests to line up, I may open them up again, or do something different to decide what comes out next!!  
> Thanks so much for your support so far and I look forward to hearing from all of you!!


	9. "nicknames": Tasuku, Itaru & Izumi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “nicknames” | spring | Tasuku (age 5), Itaru (age 5) & Izumi (age 4)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaaaah! I was hoping to update way sooner than this – but somehow… a month has gone by!! Glad to be back with another update, though!!
> 
> This is the last of the chapters that are sequentially chronological! It wraps up what I consider the “introduction” chapters that establish how they all met/became friends. The chapters that come after this will be in no particular order (unless otherwise indicated), and may jump around time-wise! Please enjoy!

“Hey, Zumi—move it! You’re in the way!” Tasuku complained. Izumi was positioned on the rung above him on the jungle gym, which was where he was trying to go next.

“Just go the other way—” Izumi’s retort died off as she realized something. “Wait, what did you call me?”

“I just said your name,” Tasuku responded, immediately turning his face away as he realized his slip.

“You called her ‘Zumi’,” Itaru helpfully offered. The light-haired boy was practically draped across one of the lower rungs—he seemed to have given up on trying to climb higher.

“Did… Did you just give me a nickname?” Izumi pressed, turning herself around so that she could stare down at the boy below her.

“Y-Your name’s just too long!” Tasuku replied, his face red. “Zumi’s faster. That’s all.”

“Yaaay! I’m so happy!! I have a nickname like Tsumu and Tachan, now!” Izumi exclaimed. “Thanks, Tachan!”

“It’s no big deal!” the short-haired boy scoffed, still refusing to meet his friend’s gaze.

“Itaru needs a nickname, too, then!” Izumi continued, her eyes shining excitedly.

“Well, it’s gotta be—"

“Oh! Oh! I have one!” Izumi interrupted “How about ‘Taru…chi!’”

“Taruchi…?” Itaru said slowly, rolling the name around in his mouth.

“Isn’t it cute?!”

“What?! That’s so weird!” Tasuku protested.

“U-Umm, I… I don’t mind…” Itaru said quietly. However, he was immediately drowned out by Tasuku.

“That’s as long as his normal name—what’s the point? Anyway, it’s gotta be ‘Taru’!”

“Ehhh?! What’s wrong with my nickname?!”

“‘Taru’ sounds way cooler! Right, Taru?”

“Umm, Taru’s fine, too,” Itaru responded as his two friends bombarded him. He honestly didn’t mind either nickname—they were both better than the ‘Hey, you!’ that his sister sometimes called him.

“See! He likes ‘Taru’!” Tasuku said smugly.

“Waaaait—“ Izumi whined, not pleased that she had been shut down so quickly.

“Ah. Tsumu’s here,” Itaru remarked suddenly, noticing the last member of their group running towards them.

“Tsumuuuuuuu!” Izumi yelled, already distracted from their argument. “Tachan gave us nicknames!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter, but I really wanted to establish that they all eventually have nicknames in their group! Considering that both Tasuku and Tsumugi had childhood nicknames for each other, it only made sense to me that their other two friends eventually got nicknames, too! 
> 
> I also just thought it’d be funny to do a throw-back to Taruchi (or maybe… it’s just a hint for things to come…?). And… here’s a little preview for everyone on an eventual future chapter: The fact that Tasuku was the one who nicknamed everyone… that will come up again, haha!!
> 
> Unfortunately, my schedule is going to be quite busy for the next few months, so updates may be a bit slower than usual (I’m also trying to wrap up a few other WIPs that I have languishing on my computer before the year ends -_-)! But, I hope to still try and update about once a month or so until things clear up again! 
> 
> The next chapter will be the first of the “requested” chapters from the reader comments last chapter, so please do look forward to it! As always, thank you for reading!!


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